General News

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21939, 13 November 1936, Page 8

General News

Sportsman and Scientist

“In sport a man has the opportunity of making a name for himself and advertising the country in which he was born and bred,” said J. E. Lovelock, speaking at Temuka yesterday, “but I can assure you jit is seldom in this topsyturvy world that great distinction and publicity are given to scientific or medical discovery. Often such discovery is allowed to go unnoted.” Sheepdog Mortality

“There has been an appalling loss of sheepdogs in New Zealand,” said Mr A. C. Morton, at a meeting last night of the Southdown Sheep Society. The North Island Dog Trial Association had concerned itself with immunising dogs, experimenting lately with a vaccine virus treatment. Several pups, some vaccinated, had been brought into contact with a dog badly affected with distemper; of the vaccinated pups only one took mild distemper; the unvaccinated had died. In a word, the vaccine virus treatment had been satisfactory. A serum virus had been tried also, but with it the percentage of immunity was not so high. The vaccine treatment innoculated the dog for life, as did the serum, if a pup took it properly. These experiments, he said, were of high interest to sheep owners, since to them the dog was most important. Farmer and Government Prominent farmers, members of the Southdown Sheep Society, discussed at a meeting last night what should be done with the society’s capital, which stood at a little more than £4OOO. ‘“Spend it,” seemed the popular opinion. “Yes, spend it,” agreed a member. “If we dpn’t, maybe the present Government will find a way of spending it for us!” Gift to Otago Rugby Team The Otago Rugby football team, which retained the Ranfurly Shield last season has been presented with a suitable gift by the citizens of Dunedin. The gift consists of a block of greenstone marked off to represent a football field, with silver goal-posts at each end and standing on a wooden base. On the field stands a figure, in silver, of a footballer with a blue “O” on his breast, at whose feet is a replica of the Ranfurly Shield. The, name of the team is engraved on a small plate fixed to the base, which is hollow and contains a leather-bound b oklet with particulars of the various shield games and also a photograph of the Otago team. Whales in the Tasman Sea Masters of vessels- crossing the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand have noted a large increase in the number of whales frequenting these waters. They have also reported fairly frequent fights between thresher sharks and whales, these encounters usually being fierce and desperate. One master expressed the view at Auckland that the falling-off of the activities of the whaling fleets in Antarctic waters in recent years had enabled the whales to increase in numbers. “A Ghastly Success” “I don’t remember ever having been present at such a ghastly success,” said Mr Arthur Rosser, chairman of the Auckland City Council works committee, when speaking at the ceremony at Devonport when the new sodium vapour street lighting system was inaugurated. Most of the speakers remarked on the deathly pallor which the yellow beams of the light gave to spectators, although all were enthusiastic about the road-lighting effects obtained. Mr W. J. Lyon, M.P., said that while he was glad to see the new lights were going to minimise the danger factor on the roads, he had to admit that to him every pedestrian looked like an accident. Air Service from Invercargill If either of two applications now before the Minister for Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) is granted, there will soon be a daily air service between Invercargill and Dunedin, connecting with the present Palmerston North-Dunedin service run by Union Airways, Ltd. One of the applicants is Union Airways, Ltd. The other application has been made over the name of Southland Airways. Both time-tables provide for an aeroplane to leave Invercargill in the morning in time to connect with Union Airways service at Taieri, and the return trip from Dunedin to Invercargill would be made a few minutes after the arrival of the south-bound aeroplane from Palmerston North. It is not known yet when the applications for the service will be considered and a decision announced. Mythical Raisins The rivalry between Trade Commissioners in seeking publicity for the products of the countries they represent, was humorously illustrated by Mr L. R. MacGregor, the Australian Trade Commissioner at Toronto, in an address given to Wellington Rotarians at their weekly luncheon. When Mrs Beryl Markham recently flew the Atlantic from east to west, it was reported that all the food she had carried was raisins. If they were Australian raisins, here, thought Mr MacGregor, was an admirable opportunity for boosting the Australian product. But the raisins might just as well have come from California or elsewhere and some other country would then get the boost. So cablegrams were interchanged to find out the country of origin of these raisins, but finally it was discovered that no raisins had been carried, so no country scored off another. Increasing the Population The increasing of New Zealand’s population by a large percentage in the next 10 years is advocated by the Auckland Manufacturers’ Association in a remit that will come before tfie Dominion Federation. “This association is gravely disturbed that the natural growth of New Zealand’s population is now only threequarters of 1 per cent, a year,, and that during recent years more people have actually left the Dominion than have come into it,” the remit says. The inauguration of large-scale immigration and the increasing of the urban population by at least 10 per cent, a year during the next 10 years is urged as a remedy. Fishing in Scotland The relative sizes of trout caught in New Zealand and in Scottish streams are commented on by Mr C. H. Wilkie, of Napier, in a letter to a friend. He says: “I fished for four days and caught about two dozen—very small from a New Zealander’s point of view. The biggest I landed was four and a half pounds, and that was considered very good, being the largest fish caught by anyone at the hotel while I was there.” Mr Wilkie added that the weather was perfect for a holiday in the Highlands, except for the midges, “which gave me an awful time.” • Eradication of Ragwort Appreciation of the scheme recently inaugurated whereby sums of money are being made available to county councils for the eradication of ragwort on abandoned farms, Crown lands, native lands, and on farms of indigent owners was expressed by members of the Egmont County Council when it was said that the scheme was the best that had ever been introduced for the purpose. The council unanimously adopted the report of a committee, which, after hearing the scheme explained by Mr F. W. Sutton, chief inspector of stock, recommended that the council should apply for £350 for the purpose. In the course of discussion councillors expressed the opinfon that ratepayers generally could cope with weeds on their own properties if relieved of the menace of adjoining sections, which came under the scheme. By taking advantage of the scheme the council would be doing its ratepayers a great service. Swimming Facilities Needed That nearly as many lives were lost last year through drowning as through motor accidents was stated by Mr L. Munro, president of the Auckland Eastern Suburbs Amateur Swimming and Life-Saving Club, at the opening carnival of the club at St. Helier’s Beach. Mr Munro said it was vital that everyone should learn to swim, and he stressed the need for a marine lake on the waterfront road. In his opinion some of the money spent on the scenic drive along the waterfront would have been better spent in constructing a lake that would be independent of tides. Delegates had waited on the City Council and asked for reasonable swimming facilities for residents in the eastern suburbs some time ago, he added, but the matter had either been shelved or was still under consideration.